DJ Ellen Allien to play at Edinburgh night Kapital

‘Ever since her mix tapes first found their way to us at the start of the decade, we [the trio of DJs and promoters behind Edinburgh night Kapital], have been strongly influenced by Ellen Allien,’ says the club’s Barry O’Connell. ‘Everything we’ve heard, particularly her live DJ sets, have ranked amongst the finest electronic dance music that we’ve been exposed to.’

That’s high praise, but it’s hardly undeserved, and also no surprise that O’Connell is as excited about this event as anyone else who craves more appearances by big-name underground DJs on the Edinburgh scene. After building a career as a techno DJ of some note in the early 90s milieu of her native Berlin, including a stint as resident at the legendary Tresor club, Allien made perhaps her most significant contribution to dance music culture with the formation of her own label BPitch Control a decade ago. Specialising in the same intelligent, minimal cyborg electro which Allien herself now produces, the label has been responsible for key early releases by Modeselektor, Apparat and Kiki among others.

A particular treat should be the opportunity to see a proper techno show in one of the city’s most atmospheric but criminally underused venues. ‘We had been looking for a venue for years until I went to a random one-off event at the Caves,’ says O’Connell, who promotes the night alongside Michael Ford and Brad Charters. ‘I was amazed by how unique it was in a city where we’re rapidly running out of venues. It didn’t take long to convince the boys this was the perfect home for Kapital.’